More than 500 employees at a factory in Louisiana just had their lives turned upside down - in the best way possible - after a massive $240 million payday was secured by their boss during the sale of the company.
Graham Walker, CEO of Fibrebond and son of its founder, made one thing clear before selling the business: the employees had to get a slice of the deal, per the Daily Mail.
And not just any slice - 15 percent of the $1.7 billion sale price.
Why Fibrebond's CEO made this a non-negotiable deal breaker
Walker was stepping down at the end of the year and knew what he wanted. He told prospective buyers he wouldn’t hand over the company unless the workers who helped build it got paid.
The reason, he said, was that without that condition, Walker believed the employees - who didn’t own stock in the company - would walk out.
“It was non-negotiable,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Eventually, power management giant Eaton agreed to the terms.
And by June, 540 full-time Fibrebond workers began receiving bonuses that average out to $443,000 per person - distributed over five years.
Veteran staff members saw even bigger checks. And for some, it was a life-altering moment.
Bonuses bring shock, tears, and brand-new lives
When the envelopes started landing in employees’ hands, disbelief was the first reaction. Some thought it was a joke. Others were so overwhelmed they cried.
Lesia Key, who began working at the factory back in 1995 for just $5.35 an hour, couldn’t hold back tears when she opened her envelope.
“It was surreal, it was like telling people they won the lottery. There was absolute shock,” said Hector Moreno, Fibrebond’s business development executive. “They said, ‘What’s the catch?’”
For 51-year-old Key, the bonus meant she could wipe her debt, pay off her mortgage, and even open her own boutique. “Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck,” she said. “I can live now.”
Moreno used his money to take his entire extended family on a vacation to Cancun. Other workers paid off credit card debt, bought new cars, funded college tuition, or boosted their retirement savings.
Longtime assistant manager Hong “TT” Blackwell, a 67-year-old immigrant from Vietnam, used her payout to finally retire after more than 15 years in Fibrebond’s logistics operation.
She bought her husband a Toyota Tacoma and saved the rest.
“Now I don’t have to worry. My retirement is nice and peaceful,” she said.
And the effects weren’t just personal - they rippled through the town of Minden, where Fibrebond is based. Mayor Nick Cox said: “There’s a lot of buzz about the amount of money being spent.”
Walker said part of the reason he pushed for the bonuses was to give back to the town, which had been hit hard by job losses and economic decline.
“It seems sometimes progress evades us,” he said. “We don’t often see good things here.”
Featured image credit: Douglas Sacha / Getty